The Greatest Lover in All England Read Free Page B

matched; in size, the physically powerful, balding Uncle Will overshadowed the small-framed, dapper Sir Danny. Yet Sir Danny’s aggressive nature formed a counterpoint to UncleWill’s thoughtful melancholy, and it was to Sir Danny that Uncle Will ran for inspiration when he wrote his more bellicose characters.
    Taking a large key off his belt, Uncle Will opened the door and ushered them inside. “Who wants to cut out your heart now?”
    â€œOh.” Sir Danny tapped the money box. “Nobody much.”
    â€œJust the earl of Essex and the earl of Southampton,” Rosie said bluntly.
    Even in the dim light of the little room, she could see Uncle Will lose his ruddy color. “Southampton? My God, he’s my patron.”
    Sir Danny jumped like a flea in a circus. “He’s a damned traitor and deserves execution at the least.”
    â€œAnd Sir Danny told him so in Essex House with Essex sitting hard by,” Rosie informed Uncle Will.
    Uncle Will fell backward against the wall, clutching his chest in a gesture honed to perfection in countless theatrical performances. “This is disaster. Southampton knows we’re friends!”
    â€œThat’s how it began,” Rosie said. “He called us in from the street and asked us to bring you a message.”
    Uncle Will placed the script on the table. “What message?”
    â€œSouthampton wants you”—Sir Danny glared—“to perform Richard II .”
    Puzzled, Uncle Will pulled at his scrawny beard. “Why? ’Tis an old play, and not popular, dealing as it does with a monarch deposed.”
    Sir Danny grabbed him by the doublet and shook him with all the aggression of a rat terrier baiting a bear. “That’s why he wants it performed. With no shame—with no discretion, by God—Essex spoke of an insurrection.”
    â€œAn insurrection?”
    â€œA revolt. A rebellion. A revolution.”
    â€œI know the meaning,” Uncle Will said in irritation. “But I don’t understand.”
    â€œYou don’t understand?” Hand on hip, finger pointed skyward, Sir Danny stood like a monument to indignation. “They wish you to perform Richard II to perpetuate an atmosphere of unrest, and bring about a mutiny against the very captain who guides our island ship through the turbulent waters of war and peace!”
    â€œAgainst the queen? You are mistaken.” Uncle Will appealed to Rosie. “Isn’t he mistaken?”
    â€œWould God he were.” Rosie wandered to the table and looked down at the sheaf of papers. “But as you know, Queen Elizabeth is not pleased with Essex, and has cut off his income.”
    Still flabbergasted, Uncle Will said, “But insurrection? Essex was her favorite. He would have to be mad to think it would succeed.”
    Sir Danny nodded. “The queen has spoiled him with her favor, and that combined with his good looks and wealth has turned his head. He spoke of our gentle monarch in such agitation of spirit, I thought him mad. He cursed his poverty, and claimed”—he lowered his voice—“that the queen’s conditions for curbing him were as crooked as her carcass.”
    â€œShe’ll have his head.” Uncle Will clutched his own throat.
    â€œI do so pray.” Sir Danny paced across the dim, tiny room, a whirlwind of emotion that stirred the dust. “He spoke of rousing London, capturing the queen, and forcing her to do his bidding.”
    â€œHe said this to you? ” Uncle Will questioned doubtfully.
    â€œVehemently,” Sir Danny replied. “I told you I thought him mad.”
    Rosie rubbed her forehead and left a streak of dirt. “You told Lord Southampton, too. You told them both we would repair to Whitehall Palace and inform Queen Elizabeth of their plans.”
    â€œDo you not agree that is what we should do?” Sir Danny asked.
    â€œAye, I do. But the basest